As a girl Geraldine Brooks made pen-friends all over the world from her home in the middle-class suburbs of Sydney. At the same time, Australia was developing from a parochial migrant colony to a diverse international community. Foreign Correspondence: A Pen Pal's Journey From Down Under to All Over is an immensely charming coming of age story of a young woman and her country, a rare treat of a memoir that speaks to the unquiet heart of every girl who has ever yearned to become a woman of the world. This issue of Bold Type features the author reading from Foreign Correspondence as well as a print excerpt from the book, and an essay about snail mail's place in the age of electronic mail entitled "The Vanishing Pleasure of Awaiting a Letter." Photo of Geraldine Brooks copyright © Tony Horwitz Send us comments